For photos and videos from
the interview, please click
HERE! Japanese
translation is
HERE! Check the
interview for soundclips so
you can hear Yukina tell it
by herself!

Finally! For those
who don't know, the idea for
my participation in Japan
Skates was born back in
early 2004 when I attended
the Four Continents Figure
Skating Championship in
Hamilton (Ontario), near
Toronto. I went to the
competition in hopes of
seeing several skaters I
admired who were on the
original roster.
The ladies'
field was wide open. The
Japanese contingent featured
the already-veteran Yoshie
Onda, whom I had seen
several times before, and a
young sparkplug with a
triple Axel in her arsenal
named Yukari Nakano. The
"third" member of the team
was unknown to me, despite
her being the defending
World Junior champion and a
fourth-place finisher at the
Japan senior Nationals. By
the time the competition
finished, I had a new
favourite young skater. Her
name was Yukina Ota.

Fast forward
three-and-a-half years. A
reader of Japan Skates was
very nice to write in and
tell me that Yukina was
training in Toronto this
summer. The
Japan Federation, as
always, graciously
approved the request and
asked Yukina if she would
agree to an interview. She
did, and called me
personally to arrange it. We
set the date for Friday,
August 10 at the Toronto
Cricket, Skating and Curling
Club. Along with my
fiancée
I-Ching and our
friend and photographer
extraordinaire Gigi, I
arrived at the Cricket Club
at 3:30 to view Yukina's
choreography seminar. After
it was over (and we had
taken some great pics and
video), we sat down for the
long-awaited interview.
Enjoy.

Yukina did not need an
interpreter as she speaks
excellent English from the
time she has spent in North
America. When she was unsure
of a word, she would write
it in kanji and I-Ching
would translate. I have
tried to stay as close as
possible to a verbatim
transcription.

JS:
Japan SkatesYO:
Yukina Ota
JS:
Thank-you, Yukina, we
appreciate you doing the
interview today.
You came to Toronto for
David Wilson's choreography.

JS:
Oh, that's going to be
great! How about
exhibitions? Do you
have any exhibition numbers
planned yet?

YO:
No, not at this point.

JS:
Who usually chooses your
music?

YO:
Um, me (giggles).
But this time, Aranjuez,
David chose Aranjuez.
I like it.

JS:
What is your favourite type
of music to skate to?

YO:
Classical music, I like to
skate with classical music.

JS:
What are your international
assignments this season?

YO: I
have Golden Spin of Zagreb,
and in Japan. Japan
Nationals.

JS:
You were going to skate at
Thornhill Summer Skate next
weekend, but you're not
going to anymore. Why
is that? Why are you
returning to Japan?

YO:
Just me and my coach
decided. Because my
coach has a training camp in
Nagano starting the 18th of
August, so that's why he
wanted me to come back as
soon as possible.

JS:
Would you consider returning
to Toronto or another city
in North America to train,
or do you prefer to train in
Japan?

YO:
I hope this time if I have a
chance to come train abroad,
then I really want to come
back in here. In
Toronto.

JS:
And you have David...and
Brian...and Yu-Na here.

YO:
Yu-Na, that's right! I
have really great skaters, and
it's good for me.

JS:
Have you enjoyed living in
Toronto?

YO:
Mm-hmm. We've been
downtown. And we went to
Niagara Falls.

JS:
Let's talk about some of the
injuries you've had in
recent years. After
Skate America in 2004, you
dropped out of competition
for a long time and you took
some time off to heal your
injuries. What kind of
injuries did you have?YO:
I still have the ankle-bone
inflammation. My main
injury.

JS:
Was it very hard to recover?
Was it a lot of training,
was it hard mentally?

YO:
Yeah. A lot
mentally. Because you
know, it's not healed
completely, so if I
compete with this I need a
really strong mind but, you
know, always I'm rushing,
because I used to - I could
do everything - but now
I've lost them, so I'm
like "Why, why , why?".
But now it's getting much
better.
Listen to Yukina

JS:
Did you ever think about
giving up skating during
your recovery? You
were off quite a long time,
over a year.

YO:
Yeah, I wanted to stop
competing then. That's why
I went to the States.
Just to have fun. My
dad recommended to me to go
there. I said to him
"I want to be a coach some
day". Then he said
"How about you go there, do some
ice dancing and have a good
memory of the States?".
He didn't want me to say "I
hate skating, that's it, I
quit!" and I stayed in
competition.

YO:
So then I went to the
States, to Colorado. Then Judy
Blumberg came.
She saw
my exhibition. I mean, I took
some ice dance classes, but I was
still skating with my
favourite pieces like "Last
Dance" and "Madame
Butterfly" and sometimes "Turandot". Then she saw
my performance and she took
me.

JS:
What motivated you during
this period? Did you
have friends and family?
Did you have faith during
this period?

JS:
What are your goals this
season, in terms of
placement?
YO:
Yeah...I have my goals, but
they're in my mind! (laughter)

JS:
How about longer term?
Would you like to continue
to the next Olympics in
Vancouver?

YO:
Hmm... I just want to take
it
year by year, and we'll
see.

JS:
Let's talk a little about
the scoring system that's
been used for a few years.
You're a very artistic
skater. Is it
difficult to adapt your
style to the new system, or
do you prefer 6.0?

YO:
You know, my jumps are kind
of cheated sometimes, so
that's why I have the
deductions, last Nationals,
but it's good for me.
So I can improve, I can
try doing... I have to
practice Bielmann,
inside-to-outside spiral, a
lot of things. It's
hard, but it's good for me,
and I can do it.

JS:
Do you follow any special
diet to be an athlete?
Do you have to know how much
protein, how much fat?

YO:
Actually, I know a lot about
that, but
I think it's really good
to eat with
somebody and have fun.
That's really...I need it.
I need to be healthy, so
that's why I drink water a
lot. Then I eat really
healthy stuff, like
vegetables, and low fat
ice cream! (all laugh).

JS:
Can you describe for us a
typical day in your life?
When you're in Japan and
you're training, and it's a
competition in three weeks,
for example. What is
your day like?

YO:
I wake up and wash my hair (giggles)!
I do yoga, and dance.
Some study...my university
class. Then I
come here, to take to the
ice. Then I
skate about two hours.
Then I have a rest, then I
have one more session.
Then I go home, to take
a bath (giggles).

JS:
So you're a student at a
university?

YO:
Yeah, but I'm not a regular
student. I'm just
taking some classes.
Right now, I'm taking health
foods, like gingko, and
sports science (writes
it in kanji).

JS:
(Noticing her beautiful
handwriting) You have an interest in
calligraphy. I read
that.

YO:
Yeah, really?

JS:
Is it hard for you when your friends
are relaxing or partying,
and you have to train and
stay in shape?

YO:
But, I think I need to go
out sometimes. I can
go out with my friends,
that's part of training.
That's what I do.

JS:
What do you consider to be
your best performance?
Maybe World Juniors, maybe
Four Continents?

YO:
Oh, I would say my Junior
Grand Prix Final, the long.
It was my best. But I
have a good memory with my
Nationals. That was 2002/03,
I skated almost perfectly.
I got fourth that time.
It was my best performance.

JS:
What was your favourite
program to skate of all the
years?

YO:
I used to use "West Side
Story" and "Tango".
That was my favourite.

JS:
Do you remember what years,
what season?

YO:
I was in seventh
or eighth grade. I did
that before I entered
international competition,
so before that.

JS:
(I-Ching asking) Was it because of
the music that you liked
them?

YO:
I think so. Also, I
did "The Dying Swan". I
loved that piece, too.

JS:
What is your favourite jump?

YO:
My favourite jump?
It depends... (all laugh).
Ah... oh... actually, I like
the Lutz. But my Lutz
does not always go up
straight, but I love Lutz
and my swinging Axel (giggles).

YO:
Toe loop. When I was
eleven, summer. It was
summer, I remember that.

JS:
What made you want
to be a skater when you were
little? How did you start?
YO:
I moved to a new house,
and there was nothing, so
that's why my mom took me
and my older brother to the
rink but actually we went to
the pool, but there were
tons of people and next to
the pool there was an ice rink,
Daigo Figure
Skating Club, and we went
there and my mom saw only
three people on the ice, so
that's why we started.

JS: When did you first
start to love it and wanted
to be a competitive figure
skater?

YO:
That's kind of hard. I was taking lessons, yeah.
That was just part of my
life, you know, I go to
school, and figure skate,
and eat and sleep. So you
know, I didn't feel any...
it's like a part of my life
and just like myself.

JS: You are a very
artistic skater. Is ballet
an influence on your
skating? Do you like to
practice ballet?

YO:
Oh yeah, I love ballet
but I used to take it once a
week but right now I'm doing
some stuff, but not as much
as before.
JS: So the ballet, was
that just to help your
figure skating, you didn't
do ballet by itself?
YO:
That's right.

JS: How about other
interests, other things you
like to do? I hear that you
play the piano.

YO:
Yeah, I love to play the piano,
and knitting. I love
knitting! Also, recently, I
have to cook, so I have
cooking too.
JS: (I-Ching
asking) Do you have to
cook for yourself here, not
your homestay mom?

YO:
She cooks sometimes, but I'm
eating Japanese food, so...

JS: (Gigi asking)
What do you cook?

YO:
I love Korean food, so I
make Kimchi Chigae, or
Bi-bam-bap.

JS: (everyone)
Wow! I used to live in
Korea.

YO:
That's why you know it well,
maybe.

JS:
I speak some Korean. I heard
you on a video speaking
Korean (speaking in
Korean with her).

YO:
Like "I'm hungry",
"thank-you", bye-bye",
something like that.

JS: Did you stay with
a Korean family in Colorado
Springs?

YO:
Yes, with a Korean family,
yeah.

JS: Who are some of
your best friends in
skating? Japanese, Korean,
anybody?

YO:
That's interesting! Hmmm...
I have skating friends,
but...hmmm... right now, her
name is Momo, she's a
student with Yutaka and
skating all the time. I used
to have Ami Kobayashi, she
was my best friend in
skating.

JS: Who are some of
your favourite figure
skaters or heroes?

YO:
Oh, when I was little, I
loved Michelle Kwan and Lu
Chen, especially Lu Chen.
You know, she was Asian, so
I really, really loved her.

JS: The first Chinese
world champion.

YO:
She's just gorgeous, and
beautiful. I loved her. I
miss her skating, but
recently I like the ice dancers.

JS:
Who are some of your
favourites?

YO:
Ah, the Israeli team, Chait and
Sakhnovski.

(We then talked a little
about the unfortunate
incidents surrounding Maxim
Staviski and Nobunari
Oda. We wished them
both all the best.)

JS: We ask this to all
the skaters. What was
the funniest gift you've
ever got from a fan?

YO:
Ah... I don't remember! I
think I didn't have any
funny gifts!

JS: Any letters or
messages?

YO:
Ah no, everybody gives me really comfortable
stuff (all laugh).

JS: If you could have
anything thrown onto the ice
for you, what would you
like? A really cool gift?
Kokkoi!

YO:
(All laughing) Ah,
can I say...?! (more
laughter) A house, a
car!

JS: (Gigi asking)
When you get the gifts on
the ice, what do you do with
them after? Do you keep
everything?

YO:
Yeah, of course! Or
sometimes I give them to
little children, or young skaters.
JS: Do you have a
message for your fans?
You're one of the most
popular skaters at Japan
Skates; everyone asks
questions about you.

YO:
Thank you very much for a
good time and cheering me...and just thank you again, so
I'll do my best for them. Listen
to Yukina

This was by far my
favourite interview. Yukina
was my inspiration for
helping start this tribute
with Gregg after watching
her triumphant performances
at the Four Continents in
2004 and her courageous
effort at Skate America
later than year. A year or
so later, it was hard to
imagine her even making a
comeback with all her
injuries, let alone coming
to Toronto to train with
David Wilson and having such
solid plans for this season.Yukina is a very
confident and assertive
young lady, arranging the
entire interview herself and
asking to approve the photos
we took. We had great fun
watching her choreography
seminar (with another
instructor, not David
Wilson, since he was
choreographing for Emily
Hughes in Toronto that day)
and talking to her
afterwards. Following the
interview, we all decided to
try some of our favourite
food at a nearby Korean
restaurant, where Gregg
joined us via cell phone
from Boston. We got to
know her even better over
the great food. She's
the middle of three
children, and loves to shop!
In fact, Gigi took
her shopping at Yorkdale Centre in Toronto
afterwards. And is
there a special guy in her
life? We'll never
tell!!!

We would like to thank
Yukina for giving us such a
wonderful experience. We
wish her the best and hope
to stay in contact with her
this season. Thanks also to
Brian Orser who facilitated
the meeting, Toronto
Cricket Club skating
director Debbie Crites who
allowed us to photograph the
choreography seminar, and to
the Japan Federation for
graciously authorizing yet
another interview.